Work piece mounting apparatus



Dec. 11, 1956 E. 5. SMITH 2,773,527

WORK PIECE MOUNTING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 5, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l W fly/7700f J. Jm/f/v INVENTOR.

/4 TTORNE V3 Dec. 11, 1956 E. s. SMITH WORK PIECE MOUNTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan.

JNVENTOR.

\ By. W Z D A fro/WE VJ WORK PIECE MUUNTINGAPPARATUS Egmont S. Smith, Houston, Tex., assignor to B. & B. Engineering & Supply Company, Inc., Houston, Teih, a corporation of Texas Application January 5, 1954, Serial No. 402,271 13 Claims. or. 144- 145 This invention relates to improved apparatus for mounting a work piece such that a cutting or grinding element can be worked over a surface of the work piece to shape the same to a predetermined curvature.

As an example of the utility of the apparatus of this invention, in the construction of cylindrical'tanks and the like, sheets or blocks of a suitable insulating material are frequently employed to cover the tank walls. It is desirable, of course, that these sheets fit snugly and as closely as possible to the cylindrical surfaces of the tank walls. Inasmuch as this insulating material is normally fabricated in fiat sheet or block form, at least the inner surface thereof which abuts against the tank wall must be shaped to a curvature conforming to that of the walls. It the outer surface of the insulating material is to be treated or covered inany way, it also is preferably shaped to a corresponding curvature.

According to one known method of shaping asurface" of a sheet of insulating material,- the sheet is mounted in a frame construction having templates at opposite sides thereof. A grinding or cutting element may then be guided by one edge of each of the templates; wliich edge is contoured to the desired curvature, to remove a portion of a surface of the sheet mounted between the templates thereby shaping the surface to the cur'vature of the templates. However, in the use of a frame construction of this type to shape the surfaces of aplurality of sheets, each sheet must be accurately positionedwithin the frame. That is, in order that only a predetermined portion of the surface of the sheet be removed in the shaping operation, it is necessary that the sheet be mounted in a predetermined location relative to the frame. This operation is both time; consuming and subject to error and not at all conducive to high speed production of a uniform product.

It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus, including an improved frame construction of the general character above described, which will enable a sheet of insulating: material or the like"- to beproperly and quicklymounted in the frame in a new and improved'manner so as to permit high speed production of shapes of such material.

It is another object-of this-invention to provide novel apparatus-of the character above described in-whichthe frame construction need'only be located'in substantially random fashion-with respect to the work piece to be shaped prior to afiixingthe work piece firmlywithinthe frame.

Another object of this invention is to provide" itn proved apparatus of the character above'describe'tl which obviates'the necessity of precisely locatinga: work piece between or along cutting: templates'wliile'at'tlie'saine'tirne' insuring that the' work piece isproperly'loeated prior to the shapingithere'of.

United States Patentb 2373,52? Patented Dec. 11, 195$ mounted therein can be contoured to concentric curvatures of respectively constant radii in a new and improved manner. 7

Still another object of this invention is to provide novel support means for a work piecesupporting frame and template construction whereby the work piece can at least two edges contoured to a constant radius curvature, and means associated with the templates for fixedly locating a work piece with respect thereto, the bearing portions and platform being arranged and constructed so that a work piece supported on the platform will be automatically properly located with respect to the n me when the frame is placed in substantiallyr'andom fashion upon the support and around the work piece, with its contoured template edges resting upon the bearing portions.

Other objects, advantages and features of this invention willbe more apparent to one skilled in the art upon a consideration of the specification and description of the drawings tofollow. w i

Stated briefly, the novel apparatus of th'isinvention includes, in a preferred form, a support having bearing portions which provide spaced bearing points lying in a plane of common curvature and upon which a frame member can be positioned above thesupport. The frame member includes template means each having at least one edge contoured to a constant radius curvature such that the template edges can be placed in substantially random fashion upon the bearing points to suspend the frame member above the support with the assurance that the center of curvature of the template edges will at all times be located' in the same position relative to the support. The support also includes a platform upon which the work piece can be supported between the bearing portions and relative to the frame member resting thereon in such a manner that the work piece can'be fixedly located respectto the frame in such a' position that a subsequent shaping operation will remove only adesiredportion ofthe' work piece.

While this inventionfinds particular application in the shaping of sur'faces of sheets of insulating material for the purposesdescribed, its scope is not restricted thereto. To the contrary, the apparatus of this invention may also be used ,in shaping the surface of other types of sheet material we constant radius curvature. Still further, theapplication o f this invention is not necessarily restrictedto the shaping of surfaces of sheet material, as'the term' is commonly used to'denote a configuration having a' relatively highratio of lengthor width to thickness; Actually, this invention is applicable to the contouring" of a work piece of almost any configuration. For that reason; inthe description to follow and claims of this invention, the term'work piecefis used throughout. I However, as will be more fully understoodhereinafter, the apparatus of this invention maybe practiced only withre spe'ct to work pieces of relatively rigid characteristics. That is,-the work piece must be of a material which will not only resist'bending along'its length due to its own weight but also bending or compression as a result of ordinary'e ndwise clamping pressure,

In the drawings, wherein likere'fe'rence characters are employed throughout each of the views:

Fig} l is'apla riview of'a' preferred embodiment of the novel apparatus of this invention; I i I I Fig. 21Sdrum-usualview of the apparatus of Fig. l,

with a work piece supported in operative position thereon;

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view similar to Fig. 1, but in which the work piece has been clamped in position within the frame construction of the apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the frame construction removed from the support therefor and with a surface of the work piece carried thereby in the process of being worked by a cutting element; 1

Fig. 5 is a partial elevational view of the frame construction with one surface of the work piece being worked by the cutting element; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5, but in which the op posite surface of the work piece is being worked.

Referring now particularly to the above described drawings, there is shown in Fig. l a substantially horizontal support 10 having four, at least three being required, spaced bearing portions 11 secured thereto at approximately the four corners of the support.

Disposed above the support 10 and between the hearing portions 11 is a platform 12 having an upper surface upon which a work piece A of insulating material or the like can be placed. This platform, 12 is supported to-' wards its corners by threaded rods 13 received as shown in the support 10 and caused to be moved uniformly vertically with respect thereto by a chain 14 engaging with sprockets 14a affixed to the lower ends of the rods. Thus, upon actuation of the chain 14, the elevation of platform 12 with respect to the support 10 and portions 11 can be adjusted as desired while maintaining the supporting surface of the platform in predetermined angularity with respect to portions 11.

When placed upon the platform 12, an edge of the work piece A can be abutted against a stop member 15 for centering the work piece in one direction with respect to the platform. This stop member can be made adjustable with respect to the platform edge by means of slots 16 encompassing clamping bolts 17 upstanding from the platform. The frame for mounting the work piece A is indicated 111 its entirety by the numeral 18 and includes laterally spaced parallel templates 19 which are rigidly maintained in their spaced relation by laterally extending tie rods 20. When it is desired to shape the work piece to fit a cylindrical surface, the upper and lower edges 21 and 22, respectively (Fig. 2) of each of the templates are all curved about a common axis With the curvatures of the upper edges each having the same radius and the radius of curvature of the lower edges also being equal to each other but greater than the radius of the upper edges. In this manner, both of edges 21 lie in a common cylindrical plane and both of edges 22 likewise lie in a common cylindrical plane, both of such planes being struck about a common axis on different radii.

A fixed abutment 23 is located along the inner side of one of the templates and an adjustable cam clamp 24 is located along the inner side of the other template and in opposed relation to the fixed abutment 23. The clamp 24 can be operated by a handle 25 from an open position (Fig. l) to closed position (Figs. 3 and 4) for clamping opposite sides of the work piece A to retain the latter in a fixed position within the frame 18. In its alternate positions, the handle 25 is disposed horizontally so as not to interfere with the subsequent shaping operations.

Instead of connecting templates 19 directly to tie rods 20, suitable side frame members of less depth than that of the templates can be connected to the tie rods and then the templates connected to the side frame members as by providing the templates with slots and the side frame members with bolts or studs. A number of differently curved templates can then be successively used with a single frame and have their positions on the frame adjusted to secure proper alignment of the curved edges of the templates.

From the foregoing, it will further be understood that with the work piece A located upon the support It), the frame 18 may be moved into position thereover and into contact with each of bearing portions 11. In so placing the frame, it is only necessary that the template edges be placed in contact with all four bearing points and as long as this is accomplished, the frame will be properly located with respect to the work piece even though its location lengthwise with respect to the Work piece may be selected in random fashion. That is, inasmuch as the edges of the templates 19 are contoured to constant radius curvatures about a single common axis and the bearing points of bearing portions 11 are situated so that all contact the respective lower edges of the templates (i. e., the bearing points also lie in a constant radius curved plane struck about the same axis as that of the templates), the templates will automatically be disposed so that the axis about which their edges are curved will always occupy the same position with respect to the work piece regardless of the location of the frame lengthwise of the support 10 and bearing portions 11. Then by properly adjusting the position of platform 12 and stop 15, as discussed below, succeeding similarly shaped work pieces will always be clamped in the frame so that each will be cut like the others thereby providing a uniform, accurately cut product.

Thus, the contoured edges of the templates 19 may be said to perform a dual function. Those portions of the edges which rest upon hearing portions 11 act to automatically position the frame with respect to the Work piece. On the other hand, the edges serve to guide a cutting or grinding member in shaping a surface of the work piece. As a practical matter then, it is desirable to provide templates 19 for the frame which are sufficiently long to extendconsiderably outwardly beyond the ends of the work piece and to space bearing members 11 a substantial distance inwardly from the ends of the templates. In this manner, an operator is given wider latitude in adjusting the lengthwise placement of frame 18 upon the bearing members.

With the work piece A located in selected position on the platform 12, as discussed below, and the frame 18 randomly located upon and touching each of the bearing portions 11, the work piece can be fixedly located with respect to the frame by operation of the cam clamp 24. At this time, both the frame and work piece can be lifted as a unit from the support 10 and carried to a convenient location for shaping the surfaces of the work piece. For this purpose, there can be provided a cutting or grinding roller 26 (Figs. 4 to 6) having either an abrasive or milling surface thereon. This roller can be mounted on a shaft 27 having its opposite ends journaled in bearings 28 supported on uprighhts 29. A motor 30 may be provided for driving the cutting roller 26 through a belt 31.

Thus, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the upper and lower edges 21 and 22 of the templates 19 may be alternately traversed by the shaft 27 such that the roller 26 is caused to cut or grind away a contour on each of the surfaces of work piece A, which contour corresponds to that of the template edges.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that the elevation of the platform 12 may be adjusted in such a manner with relation to the bearing portions 11 that when a work piece A of predetermined thickness is supported thereon and frame 18 is rested upon the bearing portions, the work piece can be fixedly located with respect to the frame in such a position that its upper and lower surfaces can be shaped. To effect a minimum wastage of material, the width of the templaes between their edges 21 and 22 is selected to be equal to the sum of the desired thickness of the finished work piece product plus twice the distance which cutting roller 26 extends into the frame beyond the edges of the templates. A work piece is then selectedto have a thickness at least as great and preferably substantially equal to the template with, an

widtli less the distance roller 26 extend s into thejframe'.

Stop 15 is adjusted so that the ends ofithe work piece located at the corners of rectangle as shown inthe drawings, the work piece will be centeredlengthwise between the pairs of the bearing portions at opposite ends of the frame. The height of platform 12 is adjusted so that the roller takes no-more than a very shallow cut at corners a and b of the work piece and a maximum cut midway between these corners. shaping the other side of the work piece, this adjustment is such that the cutter" takes a maximum depth" of cut at corners c and d and: a minimum at midway point e therebetween; Thus, the height of platform 12 can be adjustedto place points a, b and e equidistant from the respective edges of the templates. Such: height adjustment is-usually necessary each time thethickne'ss of the work piece or the width of the templates is changed.

If desired, the elevation of the bearing portions 11 rather than the elevation of the platform may be made adjustable. On the other hand, both the bearing portions and the platform may be made adjustable.

As shown in the drawings, the portions 11 are cylindrical and of equal diameter and extend transversely of the length of the support. As well, the axes of laterally opposite bearing portions are aligned with each other so that each portion provides a line or point for contacting and supporting the templates of frame 18. With this arrangement it will be noted that all of the lines or points for supporting the frame lie in a common plane of constant radius curvature struck about an axis which will coincide with that of the curvatures of template faces 21 and 22 when the frame is properly positioned in contact with each of the supports. Of course, if desired, each pair of opposite bearing portions may merely comprise a single cylindrical member extending entirely across the support 10.

As well, it will be understood that the bearing portions 11 need not necessarily be four in number, three being sufiicient if stops are provided to align the frame each time it is placed on the three bearing portions so that the axis about which the template edges are struck will always assume the same position each time the frame is placed on the three bearing portions.

The bearing portions need not be of cylindrical shape. To the contrary, they may be of any shape and size to provide the lines or points disposed to contact the lower edges of the templates and permit the latter to slide lengthwise on the portions Without shifting the axis about which the template edges are struck. Preferably, however, four bearing portions are provided to eliminate the need for aligning stops and to give more flexibility in lateral placement of the frame on the bearing portions since when the frame is placed so that it contacts all four bearing portions, one can be assured that the common axis about which the template edges are struck will always assume the same position each time the frame is placed on the four bearing portions. As well, in the illustrated embodiment of this invention, the bearing portions 11 are raised sufiiciently above the flat support to permit frame 18 to be suspended therebetween and above support 10. As will be undersood, the height of the bearing portions will be dependent upon the location of the support relative thereto as well as the shape of the frame and in this sense, a plurality of sets of bearing portions can be provided on the support to accommodate frames of widely varying sizes and shapes.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the appar-atus.

Conversely, when It willhe underused that c'ertain'features and subcombin ations are of utility and may be employed without reference toother features: and subcombinations. This is contemplated'by and is within the scope of the claims.

illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

I. An assembly for use with apparatus for shaping a surface of a rigid work piece, said assembly comprising in combination; a support carrying a platform for supporting a work piece having a surface t OLbC shaped, a frame including template means having edges contoured to a constant radius curvature, means for removably receiving said frame upon said support with said contoured edges in selected orientation relative to said platform, said lattcr-mentioned" means including bearing portions carried by said support providing at least three bearing points for said framewhich determine the position of said contoured edge relative to said platform, and means on said template means for fixedly clamping said work piece therebetween.

2. An assembly of the character described in claim 1, said means for removably receiving said frame upon said support also including bearing parts on said frame which engage with the bearing points provided by the bearing portions carried by the support.

3. An assembly of the character described in claim 2, in which the bearing parts on the frame comprise contoured elongated portions having a common center of curvature with the contoured edges of the template means.

4. An assembly for use with apparatus for shaping a surface of a rigid work piece, said assembly comprising in combination, a support having spaced laterally extending bearing portions, a work piece supporting platform between said bearing portions, a frame including spaced templates having the lower edges thereof contoured to a constant radius curvature, said templates being longitudinally suspendable between said spaced portions and above said support, said frame to be positioned in selected orientation relative to said platform, and means on said templates for fixedly clamping said work piece therebetween.

5. An assembly of the character described in claim 4, in which the opposite upper edges on said templates are also contoured to a constant radius curvature, said upper and lower contoured edges having a common center of curvature.

6. An assembly of the character described in claim 4, said bearing portions being constructed to provide line contact with the edges of said templates longitudinally suspendable therebetween.

7. An assembly for use with apparatus for shaping a surface of a rigid work piece, said assembly comprising in combination, a support including spaced bearing portions thereon, a work piece supporting platform between said bearing portions, a frame having spaced templates extending longitudinally between and suspended from said bearing portions, said templates being disposable in selected position laterally of the support and along said bearing portions to orient the frame relative to said platform, and means on said templates for fixedly clamping said work piece supported on said platform to said frame.

8. An assembly of the character described in claim 7, in which said templates are suspendable from said hearing portions along edges of said templates, said edges being contoured to a constant radius curvature.

9. An assembly of the character described in claim 8, in which the edges of said templates opposite to those suspended from said bearing portions are also contoured to a constant radius curvature, each of said contoured edges having a common center of curvature.

10. An assembly of the character described in claim 8, said bearing portions being constructed to provide line contact with the template edges suspended therefrom. p

11. In combination, template means for use with a shaping tool in shaping a face of a work piece to a constant radius curvature and means for temporarily supporting the template means and Work piece While the work piece is fastened in the template, said supporting means having a platform for supporting a work piece and at least three bearing points for supporting the template means, said template means having spaced elongate template members extending substantially parallel to each other, each of said template members having a surface contoured to a constant radius curvature about a common axis, said surfaces adapted to rest on said bearing points to position the template relative to the support while the work piece is being clamped therein, and clamping means carried by the template means for clamping the work piece thereto with the 8 work piece positioned at random along the length of the template members.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein the clamping means is provided by opposed abutments at least one of which is selectively movable toward the other to clamp a Work piece therebetween, said abutments having abutment faces extending substantially parallel to the template members.

13. The combination of claim 11 wherein said platform is provided with a stop element extending normal to said template members when the template means is positioned on the support means to center the work piece between said bearing points.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 444,306 Rohlmann Jan. 6, 1891 1,364,196 Heath Jan. 4, 1921 1,551,178 Strand Aug. 25, 1925 2,664,122 Allen Dec. 29, 1953 

